President Trump said in an interview with CBS News that aired Tuesday that after the U.S. cut a deal with Boeing for a new presidential jetliner, it occurred to him that maybe it was time for a change.

Boeing agreed in February to a $3.9 billion contract with the Air Force to modify two 747-8 aircraft to update the presidential transport.

Boeing is building the next generation of the 747 used to fly Presidents around the world and Trump is using the opportunity to paint the plane in the colours of the American flag.

The program, managed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is led by a two-star general and has about 100 employees in the Presidential Airlift Recapitalization Directorate at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center headquarters.

'Red, white and blue, ' he said. The Air Force had also begun working to bring down the cost years before Trump set his sights on Boeing. "It's going to be the top of the line, the top in the world".

"President Donald J. Trump has emphasized the need to minimize the cost of replacing the two existing Air Force One aircraft", Sanders continued.

In December 2016, Trump tweeted that an order for new planes at more than $4 billion was too much to pay Boeing. Technically speaking, any plane the president is traveling on becomes known as Air Force One for the duration of the commander in chief's travel. "But by the time it gets built, you're gonna have many presidents, hopefully, use it and enjoy it", he told the network.

"I hate to say this, it's gonna be a long time", Mr. Trump said.

Trump's comments confirmed an earlier story by Axios that he wanted to give the new Boeing 747s, due for delivery by 2021, a more patriotic paint scheme.